Young Bohemians
by Before the Sun Sets
Summary: AU The bohos are sophomores in high school! Canon couples, probably mostly AngelCollins. [The title sucks, yes, PM me if you have a better one]
1. New Beginnings

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I rent.

**Summary:** AU The bohos are sophomores in high school! Canon couples, probably mostly Angel/Collins.

**A/N:** So, I decided to have a go at a high school fic! Yay! I don't know how well it's going to turn out, so I need reviews to keep me going! They might be a little OOC: attest it to the fact that they are teenagers rather than adults, and none of them have AIDS. Have fun reading!

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"POOKIE!!"

The drama queen's voice rang out through the hallway as she ran up to Mark Cohen and practically tacklehugged him. He stumbled back into the wall, grinning widely, a blush tinting his cheeks. "Maureen!" Ignoring the giggles coming from nearby students, she gave her boyfriend a little peck on the lips, then drew back to peer around.

"Oh! Hey! It's Collins!" she exclaimed, waving at him energetically. Sure enough, the dark-skinned teen soon came pushing through the crowd to join them, wearing, as always, his knit cap.

"Isn't it a bit warm for that?" he questioned Mark by way of greeting, pointing to the scarf around the filmmaker's neck. It was August, after all.

Mark just shrugged and changed the subject by pointing off into the crowd again. "Look, there's Roger!"

Collins looked in the direction of his pointing and saw their angsty friend moving slowly through the crowd towards them. Roger seemed to be focused on putting one foot in front of the other, not looking around at all.

Maureen zipped out into the crowds and returned a moment later pulling Roger after her. "Were you gonna come say hi or what?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh… sorry…" he muttered, finally looking up at his friends. "I didn't see you."

All three of them knew exactly why he was so depressed this morning. Near the end of the last school year, his girlfriend, April Erickson, had killed herself. No one was entirely sure why, but it had left Roger devastated. As of a couple weeks ago, he'd finally been getting back to his normal self, but these halls must be bringing back memories.

Collins put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We're here for you, man. You know that, right?" Roger nodded wordlessly, focusing hard on a spot on the wall.

Maureen broke the silence by starting to babble on about the play for that year, though none of the others were really listening. They only really snapped out of it when

**BRIIIIING!!!**

The bell rang loudly and obnoxiously. "Seeya later, guys," Collins said, heading off to his first class. The others exchanged similar goodbyes and headed off.

Collins pulled his schedule out of his pocket, glancing at the first period. "Damn… math first thing in the morning on a Monday." he groaned and plodded off to the classroom. He was in advanced math, sure, not that he ever studied. He was just… 'gifted', as his teachers often put it.

He walked into the quiet classroom, everyone yawning and looking entirely exhausted. The young anarchist dumped his backpack next to an empty chair. Looking around, he saw that most of his classmates were juniors, with even a couple seniors. There were no other sophomores in the room. _Oh, WONDERFUL. This is gonna be fun. _he complained to himself, leaning back casually in his chair and waiting for the class to start.

Roger ambled into his first period, Latin, to see Mark already seated in the second row, staring in horror at the board. Every square inch of the white surface was literally /covered/ in writing, and none of the words meant anything to anyone. A single, big, underlined word at the top proclaimed: VOCABULARY.

The songwriter looked around at the other students as he made his way to sit next to Mark. His breath drew in sharply as his gaze fell on a beautiful Latina girl with long, curly brown hair. She was talking animatedly to a short-haired Latino boy sitting next to her; were they brother and sister or something? Roger's eyes fixated on her, despite the guilty feeling he was getting, like he was betraying April.

His dilemma was soon solved when he tripped over a desk with a _crash_, faceplanting into the ground. Laughter exploded around him as he slowly stood up. Face red, he quickly slid into his seat beside Mark. The filmmaker stopped snickering into his hand long enough to ask "You okay?" Roger nodded and glanced back at the girl he'd seen earlier; she hadn't seemed to notice his embarrassment, seemingly too involved in her conversation to be bothered.

He let out a sigh of relief and turned to face forwards again, just as the teacher came in. "Quiet!" she almost-yelled, slapping a ruler onto her desk. There was instant silence, everyone's eyes fixated on the teacher.

"Good. Now, see all these words on the board? Copy them down. You will be expected to learn them by next Friday; we will have a quiz on them. Do that now as I get your names." She waited while everyone pulled out their notebooks, the rustling of notebook paper filling the otherwise silent room.

Roger didn't pay attention to names except for when it reached the Latina girl and her friend. Then he listened intently for her name.

"Mimi Marquez," she stated, twirling a strand of bushy brown hair around her finger.

"And I'm Angel," the boy next to her added, deep brown eyes flickering around to look at all of them. A few whispers sprang up, but were quickly silenced with a glare from the teacher.

As the name-telling continued, all of the students hurried to finish copying down the notes. The rest of the class passed without incident.

Maureen had Language Arts first, much to her dismay. What was so interesting about some old guy with a funny name writing hard-to-understand plays? The only fun part was when she got to read and could act out her part; it was no fun answering stupid questions about what the writing _meant_ or whatever.

The only thing interesting about the class was the girl she sat next to; Joanne Jefferson. The dark-skinned girl was stunningly beautiful, but also stunningly uptight. Despite Maureen's best attempts, the other had refused to talk to her during class. And yet, the drama queen was intrigued by this new girl, and determined with her usual stubbornness that she _would_ find out more about her.

Second period came by, and Collins once again found himself alone, this time in Biology. The chairs were set up two to a counter. By the time Collins found the classroom, most of the seats were taken. The only open one was next to a petite Latino boy with short black hair.

Collins wove through the chattering masses and plopped down next to him. "Hi, I'm Collins. Tom Collins."

The other turned around and met Collins's eyes with his deep brown ones. "Hi. I'm Angel." They shook hands, and Collins felt a weird electric tingle go up his arm. Angel's eyes widened as he felt a similar tingle, and both blushed and quickly looked away.

"Nice to meet you, Collins." Angel said calmly, pretending like he wasn't blushing pink. Collins nodded and chuckled nervously. His heart rate sped up slightly as he glanced at Angel.

Now, let's just get something out of the way here. Collins knew he was gay. He'd known since the seventh grade. But he'd never really had a crush on anyone.

It seemed that that particular fact was about to change. _This is gonna be an interesting year…_

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_Liked it? Loved it? Have some constructive criticism? Leave a review please!_


	2. Lunchtime Romance

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I RENT.

**A/N:** WOW!! I mean, WOW! Seven reviews in 24 hours! –amazed- Well, thank you for your support! This is approximately a day later from when I wrote the first chapter (That is, 10:19 at night), so hopefully this is fast enough updating –grins- Hope you guys enjoy this one too!

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The rest of the morning passed uneventfully for the four friends, though Collins and Maureen discovered they had the same Latin class and all of them but Mark had chorus together. 

When lunch time rolled around, the friends gathered at their old lunchtime meeting place; outside, a picnic table off to one side. Collins dug into his food, heedless of the horrible taste and disgusting appearance. Maureen nibbled at hers, and Roger just poked it with his fork. Mark had pulled out his camera and was filming his friends, providing a running commentary;

"Zoom in on Collins, whose tough stomach can survive all disgusting cafeteria foods," he commented loudly, getting the finger from Collins as a result. Maureen grabbed the camera from him and, ignoring his "Hey!" of protest, turned the lens on the filmmaker;

"If I knew how, I'd zoom in on Marky, who… um… always wears his special scarf no matter how hot outside!" She dropped her voice to a stage-whisper, "Sometimes I think he showers with it on."

"MAUREEN!" Mark exclaimed, indignant and blushing furiously, "Give it back!"

The drama queen giggled and handed it back, "There ya go, Pookie." Mark snatched it from her hand, glaring at Roger, who was snickering into his soda. Unfortunately, this resulted in fizz going up his nose, and he sneezed hard.

Mark grinned evilly and pulled his camera out again, pointing it at the sniffling Roger. "Close on Roger, who just became a victim of karma and sneezed all over his lunch… not that it decreased the quality."

The songwriter grimaced and pushed his plate away. "Thanks Mark. Now I'm DEFINITELY not eating it." The others erupted into laughter; just like old times.

Once she'd regained control of herself, Maureen grabbed Mark's hand and tugged him to his feet. "Come on, pookie, come with me to sign up for the musical!"

She towed him off towards the school building, his protests of "But I don't want to be in the musical!" echoing behind him. Roger snickered again, careful not to inhale more soda fizz, and stood up as well. "Sorry, Collins, the chorus teacher wanted me to talk to him during lunch, so I'd better get going. Seeya."

Collins half-waved as he finished off his meal, then dumped both his and the other's abandoned paper plates (with or without food) into the nearest trashcan.

He was about to head back to the building himself when he heard angry shouts coming from around the corner of the school. Curiosity aroused, he quickly headed around to the source. As he rounded the corner, he heard the sound of a punch and sped up, seeing three boys grouped around a small fallen figure.

"Fag!" one of them shouted. That was all Collins needed to hear. He bounded up and delivered a quick punch to the side of the nearest one's head. The boy stumbled to the side, clutching his ringing head. His buddies turned on Collins, obviously ready to fight.

"Back. Off. You. Assholes." he growled menacingly, eyes smoldering with anger. The others took one look at him and fled, terrified of his fury. Even the one he'd punched managed to stumble off around the corner.

Collins's fury quickly changed to concern as he turned to the figure on the ground. "Oh my god, are you okay?" he asked, bending down and helping the other to his feet. As their eyes met, he realized it was Angel.

Both teens flushed instantly, and Angel smiled at Collins, "I think so. Thanks."

Collins blushed even more. "Those bastards deserved it…" he said sheepishly, a small goofy smile coming onto his face.

He felt another jolt of anger as he spotted the beginnings of a bruise forming on Angel's cheek, marring the Latino's smooth skin. The dark-skinned teen reached out to touch it gently, causing both teens' blush to darken slightly. "Come on, you should let the nurse check this out. It looks pretty nasty."

Angel hesitated, not sure if he wanted to risk the questioning the nurse would probably give him. "Well… okay. Let's go."

Collins nodded and led the way through the halls to the nurse's office. As they walked, he made an awkward attempt at small talk. "So… you're new this year."

"Yeah," Angel answered, glancing around without really meeting Collins's eyes. Both teens walked on in silence, each feeling a strong attraction towards the other, but fearing that the other didn't feel the same thing.

The nurse checked Angel's bruised cheek and handed him a small ice pack, instructing him to sit in her office and hold it to his slightly swollen face until lunch ended, about twenty minutes. Then she went back into the other room and shut the door behind her, mercifully forgoing any questions about the injury's origin.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, until Collins finally asked the question that had been bugging him since the incident. "So… is it true?" he near-whispered, dark eyes flickering up to look at Angel.

The Latino brought his own eyes up to meet the other's. "Is what true?"

"Are… are you gay?"

Angel's deep, serious, chocolate colored eyes studied him for a second before he nodded. "Yes."

Collins had to bite back his irrational joy at this answer. "Oh…" he paused for a long minute, then added quietly, "Me too." This was the first time he'd ever revealed this secret to ANYONE, parents and friends included. He had this instinctive feeling he could trust Angel.

For some unfathomable reason, Collins's words brought a huge smile to Angel's face. "Really?"

The young anarchist nodded, feeling yet another hot blush creeping across his face. He looked up from carefully studying the floor tiles to find Angel gazing at him with a contemplative look.

"You know, you're cute when you blush." The Latino said, giggling slightly when this caused Collins to flush even more.

Just then, the nurse came back in and informed the two that lunch was over and they should head to their next classes. Angel handed her the half-melted ice pack and thanked her, then waited until she'd gone into the other room again. Once she'd shut the door, he stood on tiptoe and gave Collins a little kiss on the cheek.

"See you later, Collins," he said cheerfully, then did a cute little pinky wave and practically bounced out of the room, leaving Collins standing there with a goofy grin.

Collins went to his locker in a daze, grabbing his backpack just as Maureen came up. She started to babble about the musical again, but stopped when she noticed the odd, glazed look in his eye.

"Collins? HEY, COLLINS!" Her friend slowly turned his head to look at her, still with a dazed and goofy smile.

"Yeah?" he asked vaguely as he shut his locker.

Maureen waved a hand and snapped her fingers in front of Collins's eyes. "What's up with you? You look like you've fallen in love or something!"

She was shocked when Collins just patted her shoulder absently and commented, "You might be right, there, Mo," before walking off in a daze. _You might just be right._

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_Liked this one? I know it was mostly Angel/Collins, there'll be more Roger/Mimi and the beginnings of MoJo in the next chappie, promise! Leave a review if you liked it or have some constructive criticism!_


	3. An Unorthodox History Class

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I RENT.

**A/N:** Okay, so, the last chapter was Angel/Collins centric. Likely the whole story will be, but in this chapter I shall make an effort to include some Roger/Mimi, Mo/Mark, and the beginnings of MoJo. What happens when you take an incredibly fun history teacher named Mr. Vinsley and toss all the bohemians into the same class with him? FUN CHAOS!! The history teacher is based on my 8th grade history teacher, who I miss so very much… he was awesome… Enjoy the chapter!

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Collins walked to his next class feeling light and completely out of it. People saw his dazed look and gave him space so he wouldn't run into anyone, whispering among themselves for a moment before moving on to other matters. 

He wandered almost absentmindedly into the classroom, registering that it was a history class.

"Hey, Collins! Over here!"

He finally came out of his daze, looking around and seeing Mark, Roger, and Maureen sitting at one of the table clusters, which seemed to each seat seven. He headed over to them and plopped down, traces of the goofy smile still clear on his face.

Roger eyed him for a moment and opened his mouth to say something, but was distracted by the entrance of Mimi and Angel, chattering in hyper-speed Spanish.

They stopped long enough to look around for a seat. When Angel spotted Collins, he pointed to the four friends' table and whispered something in Mimi's ear. Whatever it was, it made Mimi's eyes light up with interest.

Collins hadn't seen any of this, so when Angel came up behind him and asked, "Can we sit here?" he jumped in surprise and whipped his head around.

"Oh, um, yeah, sure," he stuttered, a light pink tinting his cheeks again. Angel smiled and took the seat next to him, feeling a tingle shoot up his arm as his fingers accidently brushed against Collins's arm. Mimi took the seat on the other side of her friend, winding up directly across from Roger, who couldn't seem to tear his eyes from her.

She stared back at him for a moment, then flipped her hair over her shoulder and giggled. "Do you always stare when you meet new people, or am I a special case?"

Mark and Collins snickered as Roger blushed and changed the subject. "I'm Roger."

"Mimi," she replied, "And this is Angel."

Collins went next. "Collins. Tom Collins."

Then Maureen, rather loudly, "Maureen Johnson, future Broadway star!" she proclaimed with a flourish. "And this is pookie," she added, gesturing to Mark.

"Mark, I'm Mark," the filmmaker corrected.

Roger frowned slightly as something occurred to him. "Hey, does anyone know where Benny is? I haven't seen him all day."

Collins rolled his eyes and pointed off to the front of the classroom. "He's up there. With Muffy."

Mimi and Angel exchanged confused glances. "Muffy?" Mimi questioned.

Mark elaborated for them, "He means Allison Grey, of the Westport Greys. Our old buddy Benny started dating her last year and he doesn't talk to us any more." He, Roger, and Collins simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"That was weird, but cool." Mimi commented, glancing briefly at Benny and Allison's group up front; giggling cheerleaders and jocks. Wonderful.

The conversation in the room died down as the teacher entered, preceded by one last student. Since the only open seat was at the boho's table, she plopped into the seat on the other side of Mark.

"Hey, I'm Joanne," she said before any of them asked. Maureen took care of the introductions for the others, pointing at each of them as she rattled off the names.

"And this is Marky," she finished, hugging Mark, who quickly corrected her yet again, "Just Mark."

The teacher finished writing on the board and banged the end of his marker on the board. "Hey, guys, listen up!"

Everyone quit talking and turned to face him curiously. He wasn't your normal teacher; a poof of short curly grey hair, slightly crooked teeth, and a purple paperclip clipped on the pocket of his somehow casual dress shirt.

Rather than standing as most teachers would, he plopped down onto a table in front of the board, seemingly placed there for that exact reason, and crossed his legs at the ankles.

"So, folks, welcome to American History!" he accompanied the last two words with a grand flourish towards the writing on the board, which proclaimed the course name in big block letters. "I'm Mr. Vinsley. Now, let's go ahead and get started. Just to see how much you all already know about American history, who knows what Sputnik is?"

Most of the hands in the class raised tentatively. Mr. Vinsley grinned. "Good, good. For those of you who don't, it was the first satellite launched by the Russians. Do you all know why it bothered America so much that Sputnik was in the air?"

Less hands raised this time. The teacher nodded as if this were expected and continued, "Well, it's like this big round thing was flying above their heads every night, and it said something to them. It said: 'We—BEEP—can—BEEP—do—BEEP—this—BEEP—and—BEEP—you—BEEP—can't—BEEP—nyah—BEEP—nyah—

BEEP—nyah—BEEP—you—BEEP—you—BEEP—you—BEEP—you…'"

After about the third repetition of "BEEP—you", the students started laughing as they realized what he was saying. Mr. Vinsley put his hands on either side of his legs and leaned forwards. "So, you see, this is why Sputnik bothered America so much."

He waited for a moment as excited muttering and whispering filled the classroom. "Hey, come on guys, pay attention please!" The mutterings died down instantly, the students turning to him again with expectant faces.

"Now, another question. How many of you know the Battle of the Crater?" Only two or three hands went up, including Collins's.

"Good, so a few of you know it. The Battle of the Crater was one of the battles fought during the Civil War when the North was attempting to take Petersburg. The idea was that they would dig a tunnel to under the wall, then set some dynamite and blow a big hole in it so they could get in. So it went fine, until they actually went to blow it up. The explosion channeled mainly upwards, blowing the hole in the wall, but leaving some of the ground over the half-destroyed tunnel between the Northern forces. So they say, 'oh, look, the wall blew up! Yaaaaay! It worked!' and they go charging off to take over Petersburg.

But, as these guys are charging forwards, the ground gives out beneath them, and they go tumbling down into this crater. So there's smoke and debris everywhere, and they're stuck down in a hole, and they're panicking…"

He got up and started dancing from foot to foot, whirling from side to side while pretending to hold a rifle. "Oh no! We're in a hole! Oh no! What do we do? Oh no!" A ripple of laughter ran through the classroom as he sat back down. "And then, to make things worse, the Southern guys come out to meet the Northern guys and find them all running around in a hole. And they're like, 'Wow! Look! They're all in a hole!' and they start shooting at them.

So the Northern guys, who're stuck down in this hole and can't see anything, are panicking even more now…"

He stood up and started his soldier impression again. "Oh no! We're being shot at! Oh no! What do we do now? I can't see them! I'm in a hole! We're being shot at! What do we dooo?" He sat back again as another wave of laughter went through the class.

"So that was the Battle of the Crater. Rather embarrassing for the North, huh?" Many students nodded, grins still on their faces. Mr. Vinsley glanced at the clock, then waved a hand at his class. "Time to go, folks, seeya later!"

The class slowly filtered out, chattering excitedly about what a fun class this was going to be. Maureen and Collins had a free period next, while Mark, Mimi, and Angel were headed for chorus and Roger had to go to math.

Collins announced that he had an experiment he wanted to mess with in the biology room and headed off to do so. The rest of the group dispersed to their next classes, agreeing to meet up after school to talk a bit.

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_I realize not much of importance happened in this chapter, but it was mostly a shout-out and tribute to my old history teacher. You go, Mr. S!_

_I'm already working on the next chapter, so stay calm! It'll be up very soon after this one!_


	4. Confiding in a Friend

**Disclaimer: **I don't own, I RENT.

**A/N:** Okay, so this part was originally part of the last chapter, but I decided it was getting too long and split them up. This one, at least the beginning part of it, is Maureen/Collins friendship. Also, let me clear something up real quick; as Sofri pointed out, in chapter 2, I said that 'everyone' had chorus together except Mark, and then last chapter I said Mark and Angel and Mimi had chorus together. The 'everyone' I was referring to in chap. 2 was the boho group at that point, which was only Roger, Maureen, Collins, and Mark. Sorry if I confused people. Enjoy this chappie!

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Maureen guided Joanne to her next class, Latin, and then wandered off to find Collins. He'd been acting weird since lunch and this was the perfect opportunity to talk to him about it. It took her about ten minutes to find the right room, and saw Collins inside, about to pour a strange red liquid from a test tube into a beaker of yellow mush.

She came up behind him and said loudly, "HI COLLINS!" He jumped in shock, causing the entire contents of the test tube to flow into the beaker.

Boom.

Collins turned to Maureen, wiping mud-colored goo out of his eyes. "Mo, NEVER sneak up on me again!"

She waved her hand dismissively. "I wasn't sneaking up. Anyways, Collins, I wanna talk to you." He sighed and turned back to his beakers, starting to clean up the experiment.

"What is it?" he asked, wiping down the counter.

Maureen went straight to the point. "You've been acting weird, to say the least, since lunch. What's up?"

Collins straightened slowly, turning to look at her with serious eyes. "Well… um…" His cheeks tinted pink slightly.

"Oh my god… you're in love, aren't you!" Maureen exclaimed loudly, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Shhhh!" Collins urged, "Don't announce it to the whole school… but yes, I met someone…"

"Who? Who?" she demanded, thinking around the new students that year. "Is it Mimi? Or… Joanne?" She'd had some odd feelings toward the latter herself, though she wouldn't admit it to anyone.

Collins flushed even more. "N-no, neither of them..."

"Well then WHO???" Maureen demanded, impatient for an answer.

Her friend studied her for a long moment before answering in one word; "Angel."

Maureen's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Ang… but… he's a… that means you're… you're gay?" Collins nodded, not meeting Maureen's eyes. There was a moment of silence as the drama queen processed this new information.

Then, out of nowhere, she started babbling excitedly, "That's so cool! Do Marky and Roger know? So you like Angel? Did you tell him? Does he like you back? Does he know you're gay? Is _he_ gay?" The questions would have undoubtedly continued had Collins not clapped his hand over her mouth.

"Give me a chance to answer, will ya? No, yes, no, I don't know, yes, yes," he answered the questions in the order she'd asked them. "You can't tell anyone, alright?"

"Not even Marky?" she asked.

"Not even Mark. I'll tell them when I'm good and ready, okay?" He let out a sigh of relief as Maureen nodded sullenly. "Thanks, Mo."

She smiled and gave him a hug. "That's what friends are for." She pulled back then and perched on a stool, giving him a more serious look. "You really should tell Marky and Roger, though. You know they'll accept it, no trouble. They're like your brothers, Col."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I know… I'll tell them this afternoon, okay? We can all go over to my house like we used to do last year and get it all out there in the open.

Maureen nodded, and they headed off as the bell rang.

_**After school**_

Collins leaned against the wall outside of the school, watching all of the students flowing past and out to their cars or walking off down the street. The first of his friends to show up were Mark and Maureen, then Roger.

"Hey guys, can you come over to my house after we're done here?" he asked Mark and Roger. The songwriter shrugged, "Sure. My mom won't expect me home until supper time anyways."

Mark rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, then answered, "Sure, I'll just need to call my mom when we get there and let her know."

Just then, Mimi and Angel emerged from the crowd, followed soon after by Joanne. Once they were all gathered, Collins asked, "So, do you guys want to come over to my house a little later to study?" Mimi and Angel both automatically agreed to come, and Joanne said she wanted to but she'd have to ask her mom first.

They agreed to meet at Collins's house about half an hour later. Collins gave the three newcomers his address, and then they parted for the moment. Angel and Mimi walked off in one direction, Joanne headed to a waiting car, and the other four headed in the direction of Collins's house.

"Mom! I have some friends over!" he yelled as they came in the front door.

"That's fine honey. Have fun," her voice came out of the kitchen. Collins's dad was much more strict, but he worked all day and his son's friends were always long gone by the time he got home.

Collins led the way up to his room, which, as always, looked like it had been hit with a tornado. He kicked a pile of clothes aside and plopped onto the bed, Maureen looking at him expectantly.

"So, why did you tell the others not to come for half an hour?" Mark asked curiously, taking a seat in the desk chair and spinning it around to face Collins, Maureen settling on his lap. Roger plopped into the beanbag chair in the corner.

"Because I have something I need to tell you guys," he said, sitting on the edge of his lap. Roger and Mark looked confused, but waited for him to continue.

Collins took a deep breath, then quickly blurted it out, "I'm gay."

Utter silence.

"Okay then." Mark said matter-of-factly, peering around Maureen at his friend.

Collins looked from one to the other. "You guys are okay with that?"

Roger rolled his eyes. "Well, duh. We're your friends, Collins. We're not gonna abandon you just cause you like boys instead of girls."

Collins let a slow grin cross his face. "Thanks, you guys. It means a lot."

Roger cut in again before Mark could say anything. "Don't go getting all sappy on us, Collins," he protested jokingly, getting up to walk over and clap his friend on the shoulder in a brotherly way.

"So, you got a crush on any hot, muscley guys?" Roger asked jokingly.

"Yes he does!" Maureen chimed in.

Mark, ever the observant one, added his opinion. "It's Angel, isn't it?"

Everyone gaped at him for a moment. "Uh… yeah…" Collins affirmed, nodding slowly. "How did you know?"

Mark waved his hand, acting nonchalant. "Oh, just the fact that you can't seem to stop staring at him, and that everytime you talk to him you start blushing and stuttering."

Maureen grinned widely and kissed her boyfriend. "My Marky's so smart!" She turned to look at Roger with a mischievous glint in her eye. "You know, I've noticed Roger doing the same thing with Mimi…"

The songwriter flushed, protesting, "Maureen!" Then, in an attempt to change the subject, "Weren't we talking about Collins right now?"

Mark turned to Collins. "Right. So, do you know if he likes you back?"

The dark-skinned teen shrugged. "I'm not sure. He… well, he kissed my cheek in the nurse's office."

All three of the others "Awwed" simultaneously, then Roger frowned. "What were you guys doing in the nurse's office anyway?"

Collins's eyes flashed with anger as he remembered the earlier incident. "There were these three guys behind the school beating him up; called him some nasty names. I socked one of them in the side of the head and they ran pretty quick. I took Angel to the nurse cuz he had a pretty bad bruise on his cheek."

Roger's fists clenched in fury. "Who were the bastards who did it?"

His friend searched his memory, trying to recall the faces of the teens who'd been there. "Uh… Zack, Joe, and Camden. I think the one I hit was Zack."

"I'll make those fuckers pay…" Roger growled, pacing back and forth around the room. Collins stopped him, shaking his head. "Fine." The songwriter agreed grudgingly, "But if they do anything like that again…" he didn't need to finish the sentence.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Collins bounded to the window, peering out. "It's Angel and Mimi."

Roger and Collins both blushed.

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_I'm so mean… but again, this chappie was getting a bit long. Still very little MoJo, I'm sorry! It just didn't seem to fit in this chapter, though I got one little moment in there. Dunno if you saw it. The next one will come soon, promise! _


	5. More Than Just Studying

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I RENT.

**A/N:** the THIRD chapter today, this is. I'm on a roll! I'm hoping to keep up a good update rate as far as this story goes, because I know how very annoying and disappointing it is when a story is not updated in a long time, and it seems like you guys are enjoying this one, so I'm gonna do my best! Here goes:

* * *

"Collins! More of your friends are here!" His mother yelled up from downstairs. This message was soon followed by Mimi and Angel coming up the stairs, at which point Maureen stuck her head out the door and beckoned them over.

The instant they walked in the door, both Roger and Collins's blushes darkened slightly, and they simultaneously said "Hi Mimi," and "Hi Angel," respectively.

"Hey guys." Angel greeted them cheerily, looking around at the messy room and cocking an eyebrow. After a moment, he walked over and plopped onto the bed next to Collins.

Mimi ignored the mess, even taking a seat on a nearby pile of clothes. Angel stared into his backpack for a moment before asking the entire room. "Anyone else take advanced math? I do NOT get what we're supposed to do for homework."

Collins immediately offered to help and leaned over Angel's shoulder, pointing out what needed to be done. The others lounged in various places around the room, calling out random Latin words and slowly starting to get the hang of them.

Soon enough, Joanne arrived as well, driven up in the same car that she'd been picked up in. She came quickly up the stairs and collapsed onto Collins's reading chair in the corner, explaining, "My mom was working on something big and wouldn't drive me over, and I wasn't sure where this street was so I had to wait."

"Don't worry about it." Maureen said absently, thinking about the latest word. She shifted on the pile of clothes she was lying on; she'd moved off of Mark's lap after a while because it got rather uncomfortable.

Joanne nodded and joined in the Latin studying. It continued, but now with something a little more interesting going on beneath it. Roger was staring at Mimi, who was watching Angel and Collins with a small grin on her face. Joanne was buried in her notes, unaware of the fact that Maureen was staring at her with an odd look on her face. In turn, Mark's eyes were fixed on Maureen, and Angel and Collins were in their own little world doing the math homework.

Before long, Ms. Collins appeared briefly at the door to hand them a plate of brownies, then vanished back downstairs. Everyone snapped out of the trance-ish state they'd been in long enough to grab a brownie each, munching happily on the warm, gooey, chocolatey goodness.

"And there you have it." Collins said to Angel around a mouthful of brownie. "The answer."

Angel stared at the paper for a moment before his eyes widened in realization, "Oooooh, I get it now! Thanks, Collins!" He looked around for a split second; no one was (seemingly) looking, so he gave Collins another little kiss on the cheek.

Both boys flushed dark red as an "Awwwwwww" rose from four of the other five people in the room. Joanne had her nose buried in the book, and glanced up at the noise with a bewildered expression.

Collins promptly threw a pillow at Roger and Mark each. Roger succeeded in deflecting it, but Mark wound up falling off his chair.

"You guys…" Angel half-complained, shifting around on the bed awkwardly.

Finally, Maureen voiced what was on all of their minds, "Oh, come on, both of you. It's obvious you like each other! Just ask him out already!" Angel and Collins both blinked, unsure of who the last line was directed at.

As a result, they wound up turning to each other and asking "Will you go out with me?" at the exact same time. Both blushed again as there was another group "Awwwwww".

Collins's goofy smile crept onto his face again. "So, how about some dinner at the Life tomorrow night? Say around six?"

Angel nodded, glancing at the clock. "Oh, I gotta go! I promised my mom I'd be home by six-thirty. But I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" In answer, Collins leaned forwards and kissed him gently on the lips, tentatively at first. When Angel returned it, he deepened it a little, both of them so caught up in the moment that they didn't notice yet another group "Awwww" from their friends.

When they finally pulled away, both of their faces were tinted an identical shade of pink, though it was less noticeable on Collins's brown skin. "Until tomorrow, Collins." Angel said, then hopped off the bed, grabbed his backpack, and left. Mimi hurriedly followed him, looking very excited.

Joanne had to go next as her mom's car pulled up. Once she'd left, Collins found his other three friends staring at him with identical expressions on their faces. "What?" he asked, lounging back on the bed and acting nonchalant.

In answer, all three of them broke out into a little annoying song; "Collins and Angel sittin in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" Collins pelted another pillow at Roger, who caught it and threw it back, and soon they had a full-blown pillow fight going, laughing and dodging around, tripping over the mess on the floor.

Collins was the last one standing; he leapt onto the bed and proclaimed, "I am king of pillow fights!" Then Maureen hit him in the face with a well-aimed pillow, and he toppled over.

Mark propped himself up on one elbow, commenting, "You know, now that we're sophomores, you'd think we'd outgrow this kind of stuff."

Pause.

"NAH!"

_**At Angel's house**_

Angel walked in his front door and called, "Mom, I'm home! And Mimi's here!"

Angel's mom, a rather petite Latina, appeared in the hallway and studied her son for a moment before inquiring, "What's up? You look like you're floating on air."

His cheeks tinted pink and he answered slowly, "Well, I met this boy today…"

His mom waited for a moment before demanding, "And?"

"Well… he asked me to go out with him tomorrow night, at six. Can I go?"

Ms. Schunard studied him for a moment, then her face broke into a happy smile. "Well, of course you can!" She enfolded Angel into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you've found someone! Is he nice?"

Angel nodded, struggling to breathe in his mother's tight hug. She finally released him, and, wiping tears from her eyes, asked, "So what's his name? Where are you meeting? What are you going to wear?"

Before Angel could answer, Mimi glanced at the clock and spoke up, "I gotta go, sorry Angel. I'll see you tomorrow, and I can come over after school and help you pick something to wear, okay?"

"Okay, Mimi-chica. Till tomorrow." The Latina left, waving a goodbye to Ms. Schunard.

"His name's Tom, mom; Tom Collins. We're going to the Life, and I'm gonna get… dressed up." By 'dressed up', he meant drag, and both of them knew it.

"Have fun, sweetie," was all Ms. Schunard said before enfolding Angel in another bone-crushing hug, then heading back into the kitchen.

Angel headed up to his room and flopped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Back at his house, Collins was doing the same; Roger and Mark and Maureen had left a short time ago.

At that moment, they had the same thought; _I can't wait till tomorrow._

* * *

_I know it's only the first day and they're already going out, but it's true love! It can go fast! And I couldn't resist –squees- I LOVE them so much… anyways, next chappie will be up sometime tomorrow._


	6. Anticipation and Preparation

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I RENT.

**A/N:** I know you all are looking forward to the big date; it's coming in the next chapter! Promise! This one is the next day of school, as well as preparations for the date afterwards.

* * *

Collins was up and out of bed at record speed that morning. "Seeya mom!" he called, zipping out the front door and heading off to school. He was astonished to find Angel walking by his house, headed as well in the direction of the school.

"Hey, Angel!" he called out, running up to the Latino.

"Oh, hi Collins!" Angel greeted him cheerily, falling into step beside him.

Collins looked slightly puzzled. "I thought you lived in the other direction from school," he commented, remembering Angel and Mimi walking off in the opposite direction yesterday.

"Oh, no, actually I live just down the street. I went over to Mimi-chica's house yesterday," Angel explained, smiling brightly.

"Ohhh… okay." Collins nodded in understanding, and the two kept on walking in silence. After a moment, he felt Angel's hand take his. He grinned and gave his hand a little squeeze, feeling his own hand squeezed in return.

Luckily, in the crowded hallways, no one noticed the two teens holding hands. Soon, though, they had to part for their first period classes. Collins took notes mechanically, not really focusing on the lesson. Angel was doing the same in Latin class.

Mimi noticed her friend's glazed look and grinned widely, knowing exactly what the Latino was thinking about. She drummed her fingers on the tabletop, only half paying attention to the class.

_**After school, at the Collins residence…**_

Maureen followed Collins in the front door of his house for the second time in as many days. Collins had been stressing out about what he was going to wear during free period, so Mo had come over to help him pick.

She dug into the piles of clothing in his room with a vengeance, articles of clothing going every which way. Collins had to duck quite a few or risk getting whacked in the face.

Finally, Maureen came up with a long-sleeved dress shirt with vertical dark blue stripes and tossed it onto the bed. After a few minutes more digging, she came up with some relatively new and clean jeans, tossing them onto the bed as well.

She turned to Collins. "You need a shower."

Collins blinked. "Okay." He picked up the clothes and walked off to the bathroom. A few minutes later, Maureen heard the water start flowing. She flopped over onto the bed, turning on Collins's little TV set and entertaining herself by channel-surfing until he was finished.

_**Angel's house**_

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god…"

Angel paced back and forth across the room, nervously glancing at the clock every few minutes. "Mimi-chica, hurry! I'm not going to have time for my shower and makeup!"

"Chill, I found it!" Mimi came out of the closet holding up an elegant, calf-length brown dress with a gold belt to go over top, matching high heels, dark tights, and Angel's long black haired wig. "Here we go. This'll look great with your complexion!"

Angel held it up against himself momentarily, checking it in the mirror. "You're right. I'll be out in a few!" Taking the clothes, he ran off to the bathroom for a shower. Mimi paced around the room, too excited for her friend to sit down.

Soon enough, Angel emerged from the bathroom in the chosen clothing. She walked slowly and gracefully into the bedroom. "Mimi-chica?"

Mimi whirled around and immediately let out a squeal. "OH MY GOD, Angel, you look so hot!"

Angel giggled and twirled around, keeping her balance easily in the heels due to much practice. "Really? You think Collins will like it?"

"How could he not, chica?" Mimi asked, clapping her hands. "Make-up time!"

They ran off back to the bathroom, and for the next hour giggling and rapid Spanish could be heard coming from behind the closed door.

_**Collins's house**_

Collins came out of the bathroom in the clothes Maureen had chosen and headed into his bedroom.

Maureen clicked off the TV and jumped up. "See? I told you you'd look great in that shirt!"

Her friend studied himself briefly in the mirror. "Something's missing… oh yeah!" He grabbed his favorite knit cap from the dresser and pulled it over his head.

Maureen grinned widely and pointed to the image in the mirror. "Angel's not gonna be able to resist you!"

Collins blushed and looked at his reflection again. "You really think so? I want this date to be perfect."

The drama queen gave him a big hug. "It'll go great, you'll see!"

He nodded, now too nervous for words, and paced back and forth across the room. _Only ten minutes till I go to meet him…_

_**Angel's house**_

Angel trotted down the stairs, now as ready as she'd ever be for her date. "Madre?" she called, looking around for her mom. "I'm about to leave to go meet Collins!"

Ms. Schunard emerged from the living room. At the sight of Angel, tears came to her eyes. "Oh, my… You look so beautiful… be safe tonight, okay?"

Angel's face shone with happiness and excitement. "Okay, I promise." She gave her mom a hug, then grabbed her purse from the table by the door and headed out. "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" Both Mimi and Ms. Schunard called after her, then Mimi took her leave as well. Ms. Schunard smiled happily to herself and went back to her TV show.

_**Collins's house**_

"I'm going out, Mom!" Collins yelled, being purposely vague; he hadn't come out to his parents yet, since he was afraid they'd disown him or something.

"That's fine honey.." his mother's voice came absently from her bedroom. "Have fun, don't stay out too late."

"Okay, bye!" he quickly walked out the door before she decided to come question him. Maureen followed him out, shutting the door quickly behind her.

"Good luck, Collins," she said, hugging him again, then heading off towards her house, which was just a little ways down the street.

"Seeya, Mo!" he called after her. Taking a deep breath, he headed for the Life Café, where Angel was awaiting him.

* * *

_I'm so mean, cutting it off here. The next chapter, the DATE!!! should be up soon. It all depends on homework… _


	7. The Date

**Disclaimer: **I don't own, I RENT. (I don't own Dancing Through Life from Wicked either)

**A/N:** Oh my god, I am SO SORRY for the long wait guys! I had total writer's block for the past week or so, and it just wouldn't come to me! But I got it finally! Here it is! THE BIG ONE! THE DATE!!!

* * *

Collins stood nervously in front of the Life Café, doing his best not to pace back and forth. His hands fiddled with the hem of his shirt absently as he watched for his date, Angel.

But the only person in view was a petite girl with long black hair and the most amazing legs he'd ever seen, walking gracefully towards the Life. A girl who looked increasingly familiar as she got closer and closer, so by the time she stopped in front of Collins…

"Angel?" he asked, amazed.

She blushed, nodding. When he just stared at her without saying anything more, she started to panic. "Oh my god, was this too much?"

"No! I mean… oh, wow… You look _amazing_." Collins breathed, gazing at her as though hypnotized.

She grinned and fixed a strand of hair that had fallen in her face. "You're looking pretty handsome yourself. Shall we go inside, then?" Collins smiled back and took her hand, walking alongside her into the Life.

A rather enthusiastic waiter soon had them seated in a small booth off to one side. Once he'd gotten Collins's root beer and Angel's sprite, he took their food orders and then left them alone to talk, only popping up every once in a while to refill their glasses.

They talked for a long, long time, about anything and everything, both of their eyes fixed on the other. They barely even noticed that the food was taking an oddly long time to come, or that some kids from their school were on the other side of the restaurant, pointing at the two and whispering.

But the two were too wrapped in each other to care. The only thing that managed to get through to either of them was when a familiar tune started to play in Angel's ear. Until then, the music in the background had been mostly ignored (radio station playing through the restaurant, it's pretty common). She instantly snapped upright, having been leaning forwards to hear Collins talking, and squealed. "Ooh! I _love_ this song!"

Collins sat up as well and listened for a moment. "Oh yeah, I remember this… it's from that musical…" he trailed off, trying to remember the name.

"Wicked!" Angel exclaimed. She paused for a moment, looking around the café. Then she grabbed Collins's hand. "Come on!" Flashing him an excited grin, she pulled him towards the small, empty dance floor off to one side of the room. "Let's dance!"

_How long has that been there? I've never seen it before…_ Collins wondered vaguely, before tossing the thought aside as they came onto the little patch of wooden floor. He was uncomfortable at first, doing a couple of halfhearted steps as he watched Angel dance around, admiring the way her hair swung back and forth as she twirled.

Soon, though, they were both dancing around, moving together like they'd rehearsed it a thousand times and laughing out of sheer happiness. People at nearby tables quit talking and watched them with grins on their faces, seeing only a couple of teens just having fun. Angel sang along a little, but she was too out of breath by the end to sing any more. She just danced, twirling and stepping neatly along with Collins, feeling like they were the only ones there. Throughout the entire dance, their eyes never left each other.

As the last notes trailed off, Angel spun and threw herself into Collins's open arms, and they just stood in a tight hug, oblivious to the scattered applause from a few of the closer tables. Finally, they reluctantly parted and walked back to their table, still holding hands and blushing furiously. Rather than sitting on opposite sides of the table like they had before, Angel now slid onto the bench right next to Collins. It looked a little funny, with the other side completely empty, but neither of them particularly cared right then. They just wanted to stay close to each other.

The waiter finally plopped their plates in front of them, leaning over and winking conspiratorially. "Nice dancing." Then he trotted off to deal with his other customers as Collins flushed again, smiling goofily at Angel.

She leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment, and he breathed deeply, noting the sweet smell of some sort of natural perfume coming from her. He didn't know what it was, but it smelled gooood. Angel giggled lightly, sitting back up and taking a bite of her food. Collins followed her example, digging into his own dinner. They ate in comfortable silence, neither of them feeling the need to speak, just reveling in the other's presence.

Angel sighed in content and sat back, setting her fork down onto her empty plate. Collins finished a moment later, smiling as Angel settled her head on his shoulder again. He snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer so they were snuggled together.

They sat like this for a long while, talking quietly from time to time, but mostly just enjoying the other's company. Finally, Collins glanced at the clock and groaned quietly. "Wow, it's late… my dad's gonna be some kind of pissed…"

Angel sat up and glanced at the clock herself, wincing. She looked down at her lap, "I'm sorry…"

Collins quickly reassured her, "Don't be! This was definitely one of the… no, _the_ best night of my life." He kissed the top of her head tentatively, regaining his goofy smile.

Angel smiled as well, though hers was more shy than goofy. "Mine too," she said quietly.

They slid out of the booth, Collins tossing a twenty onto the table for the bill and tip. Angel took Collins's hand, squeezing it lightly, and they headed out the door into the night.

Collins walked Angel back to her house, reluctantly releasing her hand as they came onto the steps under the porch light. Without either of them saying a word, their lips met, gently and chastely at first. However, it soon deepened, both of their lips parting slightly to allow the other's tongue access to their mouth. Collins placed one hand behind Angel's back, his other cupping her cheek, and drew her closer, deepening the liplock further.

Finally, Angel slowly pulled back, drawing her fingers in a caress down his cheek. They stood there, bodies pressed against each other, for another few minutes, just enjoying the moment and the amazing, warm, tingly feeling running through both of their bodies. They were both on Cloud Nine, barely aware of anything but each other.

After a few more minutes, she drew away reluctantly. "You need to get home, Tom, and my mom's probably wondering what we're doing out here." She giggled, then continued as she opened the door slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Collins nodded, still feeling like he was floating. Angel did her cute little pinky wave at him and shut the door gently.

"Hi, honey, did you have fun?" Ms. Schunard asked, coming out of the living room looking like she'd just woken from a nap.

Angel just nodded, a dreamy look on her face, and bid her mother goodnight before dashing upstairs and grabbing the phone. Her fingers flew over the familiar numbers, and she tapped her foot impatiently as it rang several times.

"Hey, this is Mimi!"

"Mimi-chica!"

"OH MY GOD! Angel! How'd it go, how'd it go??"

Their conversation turned to rapidly spoken Spanish interspersed with giggling as they talked long into the night.

Collins, meanwhile, practically skipped back to his house, feeling a high like no drug could match. He unlocked the front door, walking into the front room and kicking his shoes off with a sigh of contentment.

"Where have you been?" A loud, ominously familiar voice demanded, bringing Collins down to earth so fast it was almost painful.

"Oh… hi Dad…"

* * *

_OOOOOHHHHH CLIFFY! I'm so mean, especially after all this time you had to wait for this one. But I SWEAR, the next one will be up faster!_


	8. No More Hiding

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I RENT. (Don't own Wicked either)

**A/N:** Sorry to leave you guys hanging on the last one, but I do love a good cliffy –sheepish grin- sorry! Anyways, here's the next chapter in the story, where Collins is confronted by his dad about where he was all night…

* * *

"Oh… hi Dad…" 

Collins squinted as his father flicked on the light, blinding him temporarily. He could barely make out his father as the man took a slow, deliberate look at his watch and the hall clock before demanding, "It's almost midnight, where the hell have you been?? We were worried sick!!"

"I was out. Mom said it was okay," he answered vaguely once again, looking to his mother for support.

But she gave him none. "I did, but if you remember, I said 'Don't stay out too late'," she reminded him firmly, standing beside her husband, both of them blocking the stairs. "Who were you out with anyway? Mark and Roger are both at their houses; we called when we were looking for you."

In his mind, Collins wished his friends could've made up some excuse or something; but then again, their parents might've answered the phone, or… well, there were all sorts of possibilities.

He was brought back to the moment once more as his father took hold of his shoulders and gave him a little shake. "Answer me! Who were you out with?"

Finally, Collins decided to just answer him, and fuck the consequences. "I was on a date, at the Life Café, and I lost track of time."

Suddenly, his parents were all smiles. They'd been worried by his lack of girlfriends thus far, and it was nice to hear he'd finally found someone. "What's her name, son?" his father asked in a much calmer tone.

"Um… Angel," he answered slowly, trying to escape into the kitchen. But his parents followed him, not willing to give up.

"Can we meet her, sweetie?" his mom asked eagerly.

"Um… you already did. She came over yesterday." Collins didn't feel like he was lying to his parents at all; if Angel dressed in drag, than she was a she, right?

"Really? Was she that pretty Latina girl? Or the dark skinned one with the kind of poofy hair?"

"Er, neither."

"Then… who?" His mother looked confused. The only other girl had been Maureen, and she knew that the drama queen was dating Mark. Had she missed someone?

Collins took a deep breath before continuing in a soft voice, "Remember when you brought us the brownies? I was helping her with math homework on the bed…" He trailed off, watching his mother's face carefully.

His heart began to pound as her eyes widened in realization. She stumbled back in shock, breathing hard. "But… you… he…"

Collins's father looked confused and slightly apprehensive. "What's wrong, honey?"

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as she stared in horror at her son. "Joseph, Collins isn't talking about a girl… he's talking about a boy."

Mr. Collins stared, dumbfounded, for a moment before whirling on his son, his face screwing up in anger. "NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! NO SON OF MINE IS GOING TO BE SOME SORT OF FAGGOT!" He looked like he was about to smack his son, who wisely took a step back, his face oddly composed.

Ms. Collins hung onto his arm, trying to calm her husband down. "Joe, wait, don't worry, we can send him to a psychiatrist, they'll work him through this, it's just a phase, don't—"

Her son cut her off. "No, Mom. It's not a phase. It's who I am." He transferred his gaze to his father, fighting down the man's angry glare with his own. "I like boys, not girls, Dad. Always have. Sorry if that doesn't fit into your 'perfect' world, but I'm not about to change just because you want it. I just had the best night of my life, and I'm not about to let your stupid, closeminded opinions ruin that for me. I'm going to bed. Good night."

He brushed past his parents without another look, going up the stairs and into his room. He could still see his father's furious face and his mother's confused and shocked one in his mind's eye. Collins angrily pushed the images away, punching his pillow in frustration. "DAMNIT!" he yelled loudly, not caring if his parents heard.

Collins reached over to his boombox and turned it on a high volume, drowning out any discussions his parents were having downstairs. He laid back on his bed, settling his hands behind his head and gazing at the ceiling.

As he lay there, music pounding in his ears, he replayed his date with Angel in his mind. Every glorious moment of it, replayed in his mind as he lay there in his house. He could feel the happy, floaty feeling from earlier coming back. As he lay there, the remnants of a song came up from the dregs of his mind.

_I'm through accepting limits_

_Cause someone says they're so._

_Some things I cannot change,_

_But till I try I'll never know._

_Too long I've been afraid of_

_Losing love I guess I've lost._

_Well, if that's love,_

_It comes at much too high a cost!_

It fit him perfectly right then. He was done hiding who he was for his parents' sake. They knew, and they could love him or not, it didn't really matter. If he had to pretend he was someone else in order to get their love, then they didn't really love him at all.

He flicked off the music, hopped up to lock his door against unwelcome intrusions from his parents, then flicked off the lights, stripped to his boxers, and climbed into bed.

He fell asleep with the song playing in his head, along with the memory of the date. Thus, if anyone had been there to see him, they would have seen the contented half smile that remained on his face the entire night.

* * *

_Collins just seemed like the kinda guy who wouldn't take any crap from his parents. I look back at it and wonder if he isn't a bit /too/ level-headed… oh well. And I used another Wicked song. Whee! Hope you enjoyed it! Next chappie; The Cost of Love. I'll let you wonder ;)_


	9. The Cost of Love

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I RENT.

**A/N: **Here's another chapter for you guys. Oh, I must mention the RENT RP site me and Sofri made. Click on the homepage link in my profile and check it out! It's got a really great plot! Now, on to the story!

* * *

The next morning, Collins was up and out of the house without saying a word to his parents. He stopped at the end of his driveway and waited a few minutes, humming absently.

Sure enough, Angel soon appeared around the corner, dressed once more in casual boy clothes. When she saw Collins, her eyes lit up and her steps sped up. When she got to him, Collins pulled her into a tight hug. After sharing a hello kiss, Angel couldn't help but ask, "What'd your parents say?"

Collins sighed deeply, then said in a toneless voice, "My dad started demanding that I tell him where I'd been, and it eventually came out that I'm gay."

Angel's eyes widened. "Oh my god… what'd they do?"

Another sigh. "My dad blew up. Started yelling about how 'no son of his was going to be some sort of faggot'." He used air quotes and everything, his tone angry and derisive. "My mom kept going on about how it was just a _phase_, talking about sending me to a shrink or some such shit."

Tears welled up in Angel's eyes. "Oh, Tom, I'm sorry…" she looked down at her feet. "It's all my fault…"

Collins reached out and gently tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. "Don't ever say that, Angel. It's not your fault. They need to figure out that this is who I am, that I'm not going to fit their idea of a 'perfect son'. You showed me that I don't need to be someone else just to please them."

Angel smiled, wiping away at her eyes. Collins hugged her tight again. They took each other's hand and walked off to school.

As they walked down the hall, no longer holding hands, but still walking pretty close together, Angel noticed that people seemed to be avoiding them. Some people just shied away when they walked by, others glared at them, and some whispered behind their hands.

Angel and Collins traded a confused glance, continuing on down the hall. Collins left Angel at her locker and went to his own, where he found a furious-looking Roger.

"What's up, Rog?" Collins asked, opening up his locker as he spoke.

The songwriter slammed his hand into the locker he was leaning on in anger, making Collins jump. "Have you noticed people acting weird this morning?"

"Well, yeah. Why?"

Roger gritted his teeth. "Because Zack and Camden saw you and Angel at the Life last night. Now the whole school knows about you two."

Collins froze in horror. "But that means…" He felt a pang of worry for Angel's well-being. "Do the others know?"

His friend nodded. "Yeah." He saw the worried look on Collins's face and quickly reassured his friend. "Don't worry, one of us will walk with Angel to her classes so those bastards can't get her, okay?"

Collins nodded, relieved. "Thanks, Roger." He nodded, clapped his friend on the shoulder in a brotherly way, then headed off to his first period. Collins turned himself and headed to math.

At lunch that day, they all quickly gathered at their table outside. Maureen kept staring around at random people. Whenever one shot a glare at Angel or Collins, she'd casually flip the person off, eliciting a high-five from Mimi.

Angel slipped her hand down and settled it on Collins's leg, giggling as a blush crept onto his face. Mark chuckled behind his hand, then his face grew serious as his eyes fixed on someone coming up behind the two. He tapped Roger on the shoulder and pointed to the unwelcome comer, then got out his camera and started rolling, ready to catch anything that happened for later evidence if needed.

Roger's face hardened. "Yuppie scum at twelve o'clock."

Angel glanced over her shoulder, seeing a bald African-American teen coming towards them. "Who's that?" she asked the others.

Maureen answered her question as the teen came to a stop at the end of their table. "Benjamin Coffin the third," she announced in a derisive, patronizing tone.

Benny completely ignored her, though he was clearly affected by the death glares being shot at him by Maureen, Mark, and Roger. He walked over to Mimi and put his hands on her shoulders.

She quickly slapped them away, but that didn't stop their old friend from asking, "Mimi, why are you hanging out with these slackers?" He looked at Angel and Collins, and his lip curled in derision. "And _fags?_" he spat the last word, then his tone softened as he continued, "Why not come and sit with me and my friends?"

Mimi glared at him, looking like she wanted to punch him in the face. "Get away from me, Coffin. I have no interest in watching you drool over Muffy and show off your excessive yuppieness."

"Burned…" Joanne muttered, making Maureen snort into her pudding.

Benny shot them a glare, then continued. "You might want to be careful who you hang out with. It might… rub off on you."

"Go to hell." Maureen told him, inspecting her fingernails.

"Jerk." Roger added.

Benny looked almost sad for a moment, but when the glares from the others didn't let up, he stalked off, pasting an offended look on his face.

Collins flipped him the bird, then turned back to the others. Angel was staring at her lap, still hurt by Benny's comment. Her boyfriend put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "Don't listen to that asshole. Ever since he started dating Muffy, he's abandoned all his principles to become her lapdog."

Angel leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment. Roger leaned over to whisper in Mimi's ear, "Are they always gonna be this disgustingly cute?"

Mimi giggled. "Probably."

Angel and Collins both blushed heavily, triggering an eruption of laughter from their friends.

However, it was cut off as something splatted into the back of Angel's head, making her yelp in shock. Maureen leapt to her feet on the bench, jumped straight over the table, and stormed up to the thrower, Joe.

She stuck her middle finger up and shoved it in his face. "Fuck off, asshole." He looked terrified at the drama queen's fury. She grabbed the front of his shirt in her first and growled, "If you _ever_ bother my friends again, I'll make you wish you'd NEVER BEEN BORN. GOT IT??" He nodded, wide-eyed and fearful.

Suddenly, she was sugary-sweet. "Good to see we understand each other." She patted him roughly on the cheek and gracefully returned to her table.

"Burned." Joanne said again, making everyone crack up. Even Angel, who was sitting very still as Mimi tried to get the unidentified gunk out of her hair, couldn't help but laugh.

"If we stick together, we can get through this, right guys?" Mark asked, finally putting his camera down and setting it off to one side.

"Yeah. Friendship is thicker than blood." Maureen proclaimed. "We'll stick together, and no one'll mess with us!"

Collins looked around at his friends, all nodding enthusiastically. He smiled; if they all backed each other up, the rest of the school would have no choice but to accept them.

* * *

_And that is the end of this chapter. Lotsa RENT song references, ne? Hope you guys liked it. Come check out the RP site, we'd really like some new members. Seeya next time!_


	10. A Somewhat Powerful Ally

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I RENT. (I don't own Hairspray either, I used a quote from it in here)

**A/N:** I have a whole mess of reasons why I didn't get this up earlier, but I'm sure you don't care. Here's the chapter!

* * *

Once they were finished eating, the entire group walked to history class together.

"That was awesome!" Collins high-fived Roger as they walked in through the door.

Roger grinned, inspecting his other hand. After a moment, he commented, "I think I bruised my knuckles on his thick skull."

Mimi pretended to be sympathetic, while the others all just snickered. "Aww, poor Rogey."

He pondered for a moment, then added, "It was worth it to see the look on that asshole's face. That'll teach him to mess with my friends!" This time it was Maureen who high-fived him.

"Heeeeeey folks!" Mr. Vinsley called, walking swiftly in with a cup of coffee in hand.

Everyone quieted down, conversations trailing off into expectant silence. Mr. Vinsely sat on the table at the front of the room and was about to speak when the other History teacher, Mr. Smith, poked his head in the door. "Hey, sorry to interrupt. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Mr. Vinsley looked slightly puzzled, but nodded. "Sure. Be right back, guys!" He went out into the hallway, shutting the door behind them.

When he returned a few minutes later, he found that the room had dissolved into chaos.

Roger and Maureen were arguing loudly with Benny and Allison, gesturing wildly and almost shouting. Mimi, rather small and frail at first appearance, was fearlessly getting right up in Zack's face, eyes flashing with anger. Mark and Joanne had teamed up against a couple of huge jock boys, heatedly going back and forth. Collins was shielding the petite Latino boy, Angel, from a fairly pretty girl who was railing angrily. The rest of the class argued among themselves, though not as passionately as those aforementioned.

"HEY!" Mr. Vinsley bellowed, pulling off his shoe and whacking it on the table. When only the nearest people even heard his shout, he went over to his desk, pulled out an air horn from one of the drawers, and pressed the little button.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Everyone jumped in surprise, turning to face him in the abrupt silence. Roger was still red-faced with anger, as were many of his friends.

"What in the name of Isambard Kingdom Brunel is going on in here??" Mr. Vinsley asked, looking around at everyone.

Ten different people started talking at once, trying to raise their voices over the others. "HEY!" the teacher shouted again, and this time they shut up instantly.

Mr. Vinsley sighed, ran a hand through his poofy grey hair, and pointed to a girl sitting quietly in the corner. "Sara, can you tell me what's going on in here?"

The girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights as everyone turned to face her expectantly. She didn't like being the center of attention, not one bit.

Finally, after a minute of uncomfortable silence, she nodded and began to speak in a quiet, calm voice. "Well, after you left, they—" she pointed to Benny's group "started talking about how disgusting fags are, and how they shouldn't be allowed to live, and such." She shot a sympathetic look to Angel, who still looked rather upset. "And then he," she indicated Roger, "started arguing with him," she indicated Benny, "and it just kind of escalated from there."

Mark, who'd kept his undivided attention on the girl as she spoke, now turned to look at Mr. Vinsley. He blanched at the look on their teacher's face.

The man took a deep breath, then said in a strained voice, "All of you," he indicated the group that had started it, "Out in the hall. Now."

They trooped out in stolid silence, followed by Mr. Vinsley. The door shut behind him for the second time in a few minutes. A very quiet, subdued murmur filled the room, mostly speculation on what Mr. Vinsley would do to the group.

The future bohos returned to their seats, still fuming. Collins sat down next to Angel and pulled her into a hug, ignoring the stares they were getting from a few people. Everyone knew, so he wasn't about to hide it.

Mr. Vinsley soon reentered, a very subdued group plodding in behind him. They settled silently at their table, and everyone tried to concentrate as Mr. Vinsley started his lecture on the Great Awakening.

At the end of class, he came over and asked Collins and Angel if they would stay for a few minutes and talk to him. They exchanged a glance, then Angel nodded wordlessly.

Once their friends had (reluctantly) left, Mr. Vinsley shut the door yet again and turned to the two, a big smile on his face.

"So, you guys are going out?"

Angel and Collins exchanged another glance, then Collins answered proudly, "Yes."

"Well, congratulations! But I should warn you, you'd better be ready for a whole lotta ugly coming from a never-ending parade of stupid." Mr. Vinsley smiled wryly.

"So you've met my parents?" Collins asked half-jokingly, getting a giggle from Angel.

Mr. Vinsley chuckled, "I'll take your word for it." He glanced at the clock. "Looks like you two need to get to your next class. I'll let your teachers know."

"See you later, Mr. Vinsley." Collins said as he and Angel walked out. He walked her to the chorus room, where she joined Mimi and Mark.

Angel quickly filled them in on what Mr. Vinsley had said, whispering hurriedly. Luckily, the teacher's piano playing covered up her speech and no one else noticed. Mark and Mimi gained a new respect for the history teacher as they listened.

Meanwhile, Collins had found Maureen in the library of all places. He filled her in as well, and they sat their quietly conversing for the remainder of the period.

As the bell rang and he headed to his next class, Collins had an unshakeable smile on his face. Not everyone was against them.

* * *

_Weird ending… GAH -spazz- Yes, Roger punched a dude in the hall, in case it wasn't clear. Hope you liked!_


	11. Endings and Beginnings

**Disclaimer:** I don't own, I RENT.

**A/N:** Okay, so, I've had the idea for this chap for a while, but it just… wouldn't… flow. It was really irritating, cuz the idea was there and… yeah… you probably don't care, so just enjoy the chapter. Oh, and thank Angel Dumott Schunard Collins for getting my lazy butt moving.

* * *

Collins crunched on his Wheaties stolidly, ignoring the occasional glare his mom or dad sent him from across the table. But they wouldn't say anything, oh no. It had been nonstop silent treatment for the past two months, ever since that first date with Angel.

Plunking his bowl in the sink, Collins left the uncomfortable silence of his house to meet Angel down at the end of his driveway like he did every morning. They shared a small hello kiss, then, fingers entwined, headed off to school.

The past couple of months had gone by in a blur for Collins; going to school, where it had become natural for them to deflect the insults of stupid close-minded kids, going to one of his friends' houses for study time, the frequent dates with Angel, and then going home to a silent house.

Angel glanced at him, a small grin on her face. "Tired?"

Collins groaned. "I hate Mondays…" A moment later, he felt Angel's lips on his. They both stopped walking, wrapping their arms around each other as they shared a long kiss.

Finally, Angel pulled back for air and grinned at him. "Feel better?"

Collins grinned back. "Yep. Never fails." Holding hands once more, they set off again, Collins looking considerably more cheerful.

They entered the school to find the Mark, Roger, Joanne, and Mimi staring at a sign that stood on a painting easel just inside the doors.

_**HALLOWEEN DANCE THIS FRIDAY! DRESS UP AND BRING A DATE!**_

Collins facepalmed. "Ooohhh boy."

He turned to the others, was about to say something, then stopped and frowned. "Wait, where're Mo?"

Mark and Roger exchanged a glance, the former's face falling sadly. Roger paused, then answered for him. "Um, Collins… Mo sorta dumped Mark over the weekend. Said she'd found someone she liked more and didn't want to string him out or something." Joanne blushed dark red, but everyone's focus was on Mark.

Collins glanced at Mark, who still looked rather upset. Angel went over to him and gave him a hug, murmuring something in his ear that made the filmmaker crack a smile.

Before anyone could say anything more, the bell rang loudly. Angel spoke quickly, "Crap, we've gotta go! We can talk more at lunch!" They all headed off to their respective classes.

At lunch, they all gathered at their normal table. After a few minutes, Maureen approached cautiously, looking from person to person for a sign whether she was welcome or not. Since no one was sending glares at her, she came over and sat down next to Joanne at the end of the bench.

"So… um…" she began, then stopped, fiddling with her food.

Mark took a deep breath, managed a small smile, and reassured his ex, "Don't worry, Mo, no one's mad or anything. You can date whoever you want."

"Oh, phew!" she said, regaining her usual cheery smile. "Okay then. What about this dance on Friday?"

Collins immediately turned to Angel, who answered before he even said anything. "Yes! Of course!" They blushed, smiled, and shared a small kiss.

Roger watched them for a moment, took a deep breath, and turned to Mimi. "Willyougtodncwime?"

Mimi stared at him for a moment. "What?"

The songwriter took another deep breath and said slowly, "Will you go to the dance with me?"

A blush spread across Mimi's cheeks as she nodded, suddenly shy. An "Awwwwwww!" came from the others, at which Roger smacked Mark's shoulder.

"Moving on!" the songwriter insisted, flushing slightly.

Mimi turned to Maureen, asking curiously, "So if you're not going with Mark, who are you going with?"

The drama queen hesitated for a split second, then boldly announced, "Joanne."

Everyone's heads snapped around to look at Joanne, who was blushing darkly now. She nodded in confirmation of what Maureen had said, and everyone turned to look at Mark now.

He took another deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, then smiled genuinely. "I'm happy for you guys."

Maureen got an ear-to-ear grin. "Thanks, Pook—Marky!" she quickly corrected herself.

The filmmaker shifted the topic slightly, turning to Angel. "So, are you going to go in drag?"

A wide grin spread slowly across her face. "Yep. About time this school learned who I really am."

"Yeah! You show 'em!" Mimi shouted, drawing a couple of stares from nearby students. She just shot them a cheery grin, high-fiving Angel at the same time.

Maureen rubbed her hands together evilly. "About time this school got a wake-up call. This is gonna be fun!"

* * *

_Sorry it's so short, but that seemed a good place to end it. Next chap will probably be the dance!_


End file.
